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About 765,000 tons of cigarette butts are thrown every year in the US.

Scientists from South Korea have found a sustainable use for this waste stream, converting cigarette butts into a high-performing material that could be integrated into computers, handheld devices, electrical vehicles and wind turbines to store energy.

In an article published in IOP Publishing’s journal Nanotechnology, the researchers demonstrate the material’s superior performance compared to commercially available carbon, graphene and carbon nanotubes.

The scientists hope the material can be used to coat the electrodes of supercapacitors — electrochemical components that can store extremely large amounts of electrical energy — while also offering a solution to the growing environmental problem caused by used cigarette filters.